HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''One True Thing'' is a
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Carl Franklin Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949) is an American filmmaker and former actor. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in direc ...
. It tells the story of a woman in her 20s who is forced to put her life on hold in order to
care Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (England) West Midlands, Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency team, a team of doctors & ...
for her mother, who is dying of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. The script was adapted by Karen Croner from the novel by
Anna Quindlen Anna Marie Quindlen (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist. Her ''New York Times'' column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. Quindlen began her journalism career in 197 ...
, with the story being based on Quindlen's own struggle with the death of her mother, Prudence Pantano Quindlen, from
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...
in 1972. The film stars
Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...
,
Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger ( ; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Renée Zellweger, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four ...
, William Hurt, and Tom Everett Scott.
Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...
sings the lead song, " My One True Friend", over the end credits. The track was first released on Midler's 1998 album '' Bathhouse Betty''. The film was shot in
Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
and
Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...
, as well as at the campus of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
.


Plot

Ellen Gulden has a high-pressure job writing for ''New York'' magazine. Ellen is visiting her family home for her father George's surprise birthday party. It becomes obvious that she deeply admires George, a once-celebrated novelist and literature professor at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, but Ellen has barely restrained disdain for her mother, Kate, and the domestic life she lives. When it is discovered that Kate has cancer, George pressures Ellen to come home and take care of her mother. Ellen is taken aback by this request, knowing it could jeopardize her career and love interest. However, she eventually agrees, caving into her father's appeals and inducements. As Ellen helps her mother with domestic chores while her father goes about his usual business without helping much, Ellen begins to reassess her views of her parents. She realizes she always brushed her mother aside and idealized her father, despite his self-centered focus on his career and, she discovers, a longtime habit of having flings with his female students. Ellen attempts to find a place for herself in her parents' life while struggling to continue writing on a
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
basis and maintain her relationship with her boyfriend in New York. Over time, Ellen grows closer to her mother and learns more about her parents' marriage—including realizing that Kate has known about George's affairs all along. Ellen also learns that her father's philandering days have become lonely nights of drinking at a local bar to numb the pain of never again achieving success with, nor even being able to complete, further novels. George admits to Ellen the reason he loved Kate was that she was full of light shining through everything, and he could not bear the thought of her light slipping away. As her mother is dying, Ellen tells her she loves her, and Kate says she knew it and always had. At the funeral, Ellen ends her relationship with her boyfriend. After Kate's death, the autopsy reveals that Kate actually died of morphine
overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.
. A district attorney questions Ellen about her mother's death. Scenes from this interview are interspersed throughout the movie and raise the suspicion that Ellen assisted her mother's suicide. In the closing scene, by Kate's grave, Ellen has returned from a new job she found in New York with the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
''. She is planting daffodils when her father approaches and tells her that she was very brave to do what she did. She looks puzzled until she realizes George thinks she had given her mother the fatal overdose. Ellen replies that she had thought the accomplice was the father. They both realize Kate must have killed herself. George speaks to Ellen about how much he loved Kate, considering her his
muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
, his "one true thing." Ellen explains to her father how to plant the daffodil bulbs and he helps her, foreshadowing their reconciliation based on a mutual and long-overdue appreciation of Kate.


Cast

*
Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...
as Kate Gulden *
Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger ( ; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Renée Zellweger, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four ...
as Ellen Gulden * William Hurt as George Gulden * Tom Everett Scott as Brian Gulden *
Lauren Graham Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American Actor, actress and author. She is best known for portraying Lorelai Gilmore on The WB series ''Gilmore Girls'', for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – ...
as Jules * Nicky Katt as Jordan Belzer * James Eckhouse as District Attorney * Gerrit Graham as Oliver Most * Patrick Breen as Mr. Tweedy *
Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the film '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and the television series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), '' Masters of Sex'' (2013–2014), ...
as College student


Reception


Critical response

''One True Thing'' received mostly favorable reviews from critics, with Streep being the subject of acclaim for bringing warmth and natural energy instead of appearing cold and technical. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film has a rating of 87% based on reviews from 61 critics. The site's consensus states: "Solid performances lift this drama to a higher level." The similar site
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
grades it 63 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film a grade "A" on a scale of A to F. Todd McCarthy of '' Variety'' called it "sensitively written, fluidly directed and expertly acted."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
, reviewing the film for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', commended it for rising above the level of a
soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
through pure craftsmanship, and awarded the film three stars out of four. Mick LaSalle in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' declared, "After ''One True Thing'', critics who persist in the fiction that Streep is a cold and technical actress will need to get their heads examined. She is so instinctive and natural – so thoroughly in the moment and operating on flights of inspiration – that she's able to give us a woman who's at once wildly idiosyncratic and utterly believable." ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' film critic Kenneth Turan noted, " treep's roleis one of the least self-consciously dramatic and surface showy of her career, but Streep adds a level of honesty and reality that makes er performanceone of her most moving." Among the few negative reviews, '' Salon.com''s Andrew O'Hehir complained that the movie "really has no plot", and found director Carl Franklin unable to properly connect with his cast.


Accolades

Streep was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
for her performance in the film, but lost out to
Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...
for her role in ''
Shakespeare in Love ''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 period romantic comedy film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, B ...
''.


References


External links

* {{Carl Franklin 1998 films 1998 drama films American drama films American films based on actual events Films based on American novels Universal Pictures films Films shot in New Jersey Films scored by Cliff Eidelman Films about cancer in the United States Films about euthanasia Films about suicide Films directed by Carl Franklin Films about mother–daughter relationships Films set in 1987 Films set in 1988 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language drama films